Past Musings – Lind House by Tamsin Johnson

A refreshing of an existing midcentury home, Lind House draws from a saturated and vibrant palette of geometries and tonality to propose an immersive response to context. Tamsin Johnson combines the unexpected with her uniquely refined and curated approach to see an expressive series of spaces emerge.

Originally build in 1956, Lind House sits neatly in Caulfield North, amongst similar-era midcentury style homes. The period reflects a time of experimentation and of pushing traditional boundaries in design, as a result of the new industrialised methods of production and accessibility to materials globally. Through the preservation of the stylings and architecture of the time, there exists a refreshing capture of possibility. A distinct palette also emerged at the time, combining saturated and burnt reds, oranges and other primary colours, which together with timber and metals ironically representing the era. In reawakening an existing home of that time, Tamsin Johnson draws on these initial observations and further layers in contemporary details, responding how we live within our homes today.

In reawakening an existing home of that time, Tamsin Johnson draws on these initial observations and further layers in contemporary details, responding how we live within our homes today.

Built by Stevens Waters Builders, Lind House was designed by known architect of the time Anatol Kagan. In retaining the essence of what came before, the reworking of the home leaves the original plan intact and instead focuses on bringing a refreshing approach through inserted elements and the finishes used throughout. While today the kitchen in most instances has become the focal heart of the home, in the 1950s it was tucked away in its own room, separate from the living areas. Binding these two philosophies was key in the reworking of the home, injecting a sense of purpose in the recrafting of the kitchen as a destination of its own, not just an ancillary room.

Within the existing home and its more formally separated rooms, the binding through colour and texture was key. A unique warmth is added to the kitchen and dining space, reinterpreting the original primary colours from the home’s origin era and instead proposing a space that combines a balance of industrial and handmade elements. The expressive walls of square tiles then offer a unique take on movement as the light interacts with the surface throughout the day, adding a warmth through non-traditional means. The other joinery pieces are clad in stainless steel, crisply formed and not quite reflective through the matte front finish. The bathroom and living areas then take similar cues as the kitchen, using a modern take on the original colour palette of the home.

In retaining the essence of what came before, the reworking of the home leaves the original plan intact and instead focuses on bringing a refreshing approach through inserted elements and the finishes used throughout

By respectfully retaining the essence of the original home, Lind House creates opportunity for lineage. Tamsin Jonson responds not only to the aesthetic language of the original but also to the ideas that underpinned it while imbuing it with crucial contemporary elements, allowing a relevance to be embedded in the process.